Thursday, December 31, 2009

A Delicious Dinner At Francesco's

Tuesday night, I headed down to NYC’s West Village for dinner with Italian restaurateur Vito Rappa.

Vito and I met back in November at a charity gala, during which he invited me to check out the newest location of his trattoria, Francesco’s.

Francesco’s: The trattoria’s West Village location serves up a killer penne alla vodka

Francesco’s opened on West 4th Street in March -- the larger Columbus Avenue location has been around since 1998 -- and delivers a delicious menu of pizza and pasta.

“As long as I have pasta, I can live,” Vito says.

Good food is in his DNA. A native of Sicily, Vito learned to cook at age 11. His great-grandfather opened a restaurant in 1901, and was the first to have a taverna in the town of Borgetto. His grandfather would often say pasta is the first step to heaven.

That certainly applies to Francesco’s sublime penne in vodka sauce (a family recipe) and perfectly baked garlic knots. The homemade tiramisu drizzled in chocolate sauce is also a must.

While enjoying my dessert, I ended up chatting with fellow single gals Ayesha and Callie. They shared their new year’s resolutions -- Ayesha is preparing to launch her own handbag line while Callie hopes to make her first trip to Europe.

We all agreed there’s no better time for a fresh start than a new year. Especially when it also marks the start of a brand-new decade.

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